US8307132B2 - Control of an external storage device with a plurality of storage units - Google Patents

Control of an external storage device with a plurality of storage units Download PDF

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Publication number
US8307132B2
US8307132B2 US12/465,557 US46555709A US8307132B2 US 8307132 B2 US8307132 B2 US 8307132B2 US 46555709 A US46555709 A US 46555709A US 8307132 B2 US8307132 B2 US 8307132B2
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power
storage units
storage device
external storage
power mode
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US20090287851A1 (en
Inventor
Taichi EJIRI
Masahiko Horibe
Tsukasa Ito
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Buffalo Inc
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Buffalo Inc
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32—Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203—Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32—Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203—Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G06F1/3234—Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
    • G06F1/325—Power saving in peripheral device
    • G06F1/3268—Power saving in hard disk drive
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32—Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203—Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G06F1/3234—Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
    • G06F1/3287—Power saving characterised by the action undertaken by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2206/00—Indexing scheme related to dedicated interfaces for computers
    • G06F2206/10—Indexing scheme related to storage interfaces for computers, indexing schema related to group G06F3/06
    • G06F2206/1008—Graphical user interface [GUI]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
    • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
    • G06F3/0602—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
    • G06F3/0604—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
    • G06F3/0605—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
    • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
    • G06F3/0602—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
    • G06F3/0625—Power saving in storage systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
    • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
    • G06F3/0628—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems making use of a particular technique
    • G06F3/0629—Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems
    • G06F3/0634—Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems by changing the state or mode of one or more devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
    • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
    • G06F3/0668—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems adopting a particular infrastructure
    • G06F3/0671—In-line storage system
    • G06F3/0683—Plurality of storage devices
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D10/00—Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to technology for controlling an external storage device with a plurality of storage units.
  • So-called external hard disk drives used connected to a computer are becoming widespread. This hard disk drive is typically driven by commercial power or by power supplied from a computer via USB.
  • the present invention was created to address the problems noted above, and an advantage of some aspects of the invention is as follows: when controlling an external storage device equipped with a plurality of storage units, the desired storage device can be operated, when it is possible to operate only part of the plurality of storage units by the power supplied to the external storage device.
  • the present invention can be realized as the following modes or application examples to address at least part of the problems noted above.
  • a display control unit that displays on a display a selection screen that allows a user to select from among the plurality of storage units a storage unit to be operated
  • a setting unit that sets the storage unit selected by the user as an operating storage unit to be operated
  • control signal output unit that outputs to the external storage device a control signal for having the operating storage unit be operated.
  • control device of application Aspect 1 of the plurality of storage units the external storage device is equipped with, it is possible to operate only the storage units selected by the user. Therefore, even when it is only possible to operate part of the plurality of storage units by the power supplied to the external storage device, it is possible to reliably operate the desired storage unit selected by the user.
  • the external storage device further comprises:
  • control device further comprises:
  • the display control unit when the operation mode signal input unit receives the first operation mode signal, displays the selection screen that allows the user to select, from among the plurality of the storage units, storage unit of a maximum number or lower that can be driven by the first power.
  • the control device of Aspect 2 when the operation mode of the external storage device is in the first operation mode, the user is able to select which of the plurality of storage units to operate and which to stop.
  • the first power it is possible to use the power supplied via USB, for example.
  • the second power it is possible to use commercial power, for example.
  • the maximum number of storage units which can be operated is found by the power supplied to the external storage device and the maximum power consumption during operation of the storage unit.
  • the display control unit displays on the selection screen the maximum number of the storage units which can be driven by the first power.
  • the display control unit displays the selection screen that allows the user to select any storage units from among the plurality of storage units.
  • the control device of Aspect 4 when the operation mode of the external storage device is in the second operation mode, the user is able to select which of the plurality of storage units to operate and which to stop. Therefore, when the operation mode of the external storage device is the second operation mode, it is possible to save power with the external storage device.
  • a control device according to any of Aspects 2 through 4, further comprising:
  • a power supply unit that supplies the first power to the external storage device.
  • control device of Aspect 5 even when it is not possible to supply the second power to the external storage device, it is possible to operate the external storage device by the first power supplied from the control device. Also, even when it is possible to supply the second power to the external storage device, it is possible to save power by operating the external storage device by the first power without supplying the second power. Also, if the external storage device is operated by the first power without supplying the second power, an adapter or cord for supplying the second power to the external storage device is not required, so it is possible to make the wiring around the device neat and simple.
  • the storage unit is a hard disk drive.
  • the present invention can also be constituted as a control method of a control device. It is also possible to realize various modes such as a program product or a recording medium on which that program that realizes the method is recorded. Note that for the respective modes, it is possible to additively apply various elements shown previously.
  • the invention When the invention is constituted as a computer program product or as a recording medium on which that program is recorded, it is possible to contain an overall program that controls the operation of the control device, or only the part that performs the functions of this invention.
  • the recording medium it is possible to use various media that can be read by a computer such as a floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, magnetic optical disk, IC card, ROM cartridge, punch card, printed matter on which a code is printed such as a bar code, a computer internal storage device (memory such as RAM, ROM or the like), and external storage devices.
  • FIG. 1 depicts the schematic structure of the computer system 1000 as an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of the setting process for setting the hard disk drive to be operated with the computer system 1000 ;
  • FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the flow of the setting process for setting the hard disk drive to be operated with the computer system 1000 ;
  • FIG. 4 depicts an example of the bus power mode selection screen WD 1 ;
  • FIG. 5 depicts an example of the commercial power mode selection screen WD 2 ;
  • FIG. 6 depicts an example of a bus power mode selection screen WD 3 as a variation example.
  • FIG. 1 depicts the schematic structure of the computer system 1000 as an embodiment of the invention.
  • This computer system 1000 is equipped with a personal computer 100 , a display device 200 , an input device such as a mouse or keyboard 300 , and an external hard disk drive 400 .
  • the personal computer 100 is equipped with a CPU 110 , a ROM 120 , a RAM 130 , a built in hard disk drive (HDD) 140 , and interfaces (I/F) 150 , 160 , and 170 . Also, the personal computer 100 is equipped with a power supply unit (not illustrated) for supplying power (power by USB) to the external hard disk drive 400 .
  • the external hard disk drive 400 is connected to the interface 170 via a USB cable capable of supplying power and of exchanging various signals and data.
  • the display device 200 is connected to the interface 150 .
  • the input device 300 is connected to the interface 160 .
  • the external hard disk drive 400 of this embodiment is equipped with a plurality of hard disk drives within a case.
  • the external hard disk drive 400 is equipped with four hard disk drives, specifically hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and a control unit 410 that controls their operation.
  • the external hard disk drive 400 can operate using the power by USB supplied from the personal computer 100 or using the commercial power supplied from a commercial power supply.
  • the external hard disk drive 400 is able to operate all the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd with the commercial power, it can only operate one hard disk drive of the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd with the power by USB.
  • the setting process of setting which of the hard disk drives among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd to operate is performed with the computer system 1000 of this embodiment.
  • the operation mode when the external hard disk drive 400 operates using the power by USB is called the “bus power mode,” and the operation mode when the external hard disk drive 400 operates using the commercial power is called the “commercial power mode.”
  • the commercial power mode When commercial power is supplied to the commercial power input unit 414 , the external hard disk drive 400 operates with the commercial power mode having priority.
  • the control unit 410 is equipped with a bus power input unit 412 that receives the power by USB, a commercial power input unit 414 that receives the commercial power, and an operation mode signal output unit 416 for outputting the operation mode signal indicating that the external hard disk drive 400 will operate in the bus power mode, or an operation mode signal indicating that the external hard disk drive 400 will operate in the commercial power mode.
  • the operation mode signal output unit 416 outputs the operation mode signal indicating that the external hard disk drive 400 will operate in the commercial power mode when the commercial power is input to the commercial power input unit 414 .
  • the operation mode signal output unit 416 outputs the operation mode signal indicating that the external hard disk drive 400 will operate in the bus power mode when the commercial power is not input to the commercial power input unit 414 . These outputs of the operation mode signals are made according to the request from the personal computer 100 .
  • the bus power input unit 412 and the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd are respectively connected via switches SWa 1 , SWb 1 , SWc 1 , and SWd 1 .
  • the commercial power input unit 414 and the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd are respectively connected via the switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , and SWd 2 .
  • switches SWa 1 , SWb 1 , SWc 1 , and SWd 1 and switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , and SWd 2 are respectively turned off in the initial state, and are respectively controlled to turn on and off by the control unit 410 according to control signals described later which are received from the personal computer 100 .
  • control unit 410 is equipped with (i) an interface for performing exchange of various signals and data between the personal computer 100 and the four hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, (ii) a drive control unit for performing drive control of the motor and head equipped in the four hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and (iii) a read/write control unit for controlling reading of data from the four hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd and writing of data to the four hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and the like.
  • the CPU 110 is equipped with the operation mode signal input unit 112 , the GUI (graphical user interface) display control unit 114 , the setting unit 116 , and the control signal output unit 118 . Each of these units are constituted by the CPU 110 reading of the specified utility software stored in the built in hard disk drive 140 and executing them under the operating system.
  • the GUI graphical user interface
  • the operation mode signal input unit 112 receives the operation mode signal output from the external hard disk drive 400 .
  • the GUI display control unit 114 displays on the display device 200 a selection screen for the user to select which of the hard disk drives to operate of the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, or HDDd based on the operation mode signal input to the operation mode signal input unit 112 .
  • the setting unit 116 sets the hard disk drive selected by the user on the selection screen as the hard disk drive to be operated.
  • the control signal output unit 118 outputs to the external hard disk drive 400 control signals to operate the hard disk drive set at the setting unit 116 , specifically, control signals for switching the on/off state of the switches SWa 1 , SWb 1 , SWc 1 , SWd 1 and SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , SWd 2 . Following the setting process with each of these units is described.
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 are flow charts showing the flow of the setting process for setting the hard disk drive to be operated with the computer system 1000 . These setting processes are executed as necessary according to instructions by the user.
  • FIG. 2 shows the flow of the process executed by the personal computer (PC) 100 .
  • FIG. 3 shows the flow of the process executed by the external hard disk drive (HDD) 400 .
  • the CPU 110 of the personal computer 100 sends a request for an operation mode signal to the external hard disk drive 400 (step S 100 ).
  • control unit 410 of the external hard disk drive 400 receives the request for the operation mode signal from the personal computer 100 (step S 200 ), it judges whether or not commercial power is supplied to the commercial power input unit 414 (step S 210 ). Then, when commercial power has not been supplied to the commercial power input unit 414 (step S 210 : No), the control unit 410 sends to the personal computer 100 an operation mode signal indicating that the operation mode is the bus power mode using the operation mode signal output unit 416 (step S 220 ).
  • the operation mode signal indicating the bus power mode is hereinafter referred to as the “bus power mode signal”.
  • the control unit 410 sends to the personal computer 100 an operation mode signal indicating that the operation mode is the commercial power mode using the operation mode signal output unit 416 (step S 230 ).
  • the operation mode signal indicating the commercial power mode is hereinafter referred to as the “commercial power mode signal”.
  • step S 110 When the CPU 110 of the personal computer 100 receives the operation mode signal from the external hard disk drive 400 (step S 110 ), it judges whether or not that operation mode signal is the commercial power mode signal (step S 120 ). Then, when the input operation mode signal is the bus power mode signal (step S 120 : No), the CPU 110 displays on the display device 200 the selection screen for the bus power mode using the GUI display control unit 114 (step S 130 ).
  • FIG. 4 depicts an example of the bus power mode selection screen WD 1 .
  • Displayed on this bus power mode selection screen WD 1 are (i) a radio button RB for the user to select one hard disk drive to operate from among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and (ii) an OK button BT 1 for confirming the selected results.
  • a radio button RB for the user to select one hard disk drive to operate from among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd
  • an OK button BT 1 for confirming the selected results.
  • the CPU 110 receives the selection of the hard disk drive (step S 140 of FIG. 2 ). Then the setting unit 116 sets the selected hard disk drive as the hard disk drive to be operated, and the control signal output unit 118 sends the control signal to operate that hard disk drive to the external hard disk drive 400 (step S 170 ). With the example shown in FIG. 4 , a control signal is sent that has the external hard disk drive 400 switch SWa 1 turned on, and switches SWb 1 , SWc 1 , and SWd 1 , as well as switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , and SWd 2 turned off.
  • step S 120 when the input operation mode signal is the commercial power mode signal (step S 120 : Yes), the CPU 110 displays on the display device 200 the selection screen for the commercial power mode using the GUI display control unit 114 (step S 150 ).
  • FIG. 5 is an explanatory drawing showing an example of the commercial power mode selection screen WD 2 .
  • Displayed on this commercial power mode selection screen WD 2 are a check box CB for the user to freely select the hard disk drive to be operated from among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and an OK button BT 1 for confirming the selection results.
  • a check box CB for the user to freely select the hard disk drive to be operated from among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd
  • an OK button BT 1 for confirming the selection results.
  • the CPU 110 receives the selection of the hard disk drive (step S 160 in FIG. 2 ). Then the setting unit 116 sets the selected hard disk drive as the hard disk drive to be operated, and the control signal output unit 118 sends the control signal to operate that hard disk drive to the external hard disk drive 400 (step S 170 ). With the example shown in FIG. 5 , a control signal is sent that turns on the switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , and SWc 2 , and that turns off the switches SWa 1 , SWb 1 , SWc 1 , SWd 1 , and SWd 2 .
  • control unit 410 of the external hard disk drive 400 When the control unit 410 of the external hard disk drive 400 receives the control signal described above from the personal computer 100 , it switches the on/off state of the switches SWa 1 , SWb 1 , SWc 1 , and SWd 1 , as well as switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , and SWd 2 according to that control signal (step S 250 ). Then, the setting process ends.
  • the computer system 1000 of the embodiment noted above even in a use environment for which it is not possible to supply commercial power to the external hard disk drive 400 , it is possible to operate the external hard disk drive 400 using the power supplied from the personal computer 100 by USB. Also, even in a use environment for which it is possible to supply commercial power to the external hard disk drive 400 , it is possible to save power by operating the external hard disk drive 400 using the power by USB without consuming commercial power. Also, if the external hard disk drive 400 is operated using the power by USB without consuming commercial power, because an adapter or cord is not needed for supplying commercial power to the external hard disk drive 400 , it is possible to make the wiring around the device neat and simple.
  • the personal computer 100 and the external hard disk drive 400 are connected by a USB cable, and when the operation mode is the bus power mode, the external hard disk drive 400 was made to only operate one hard disk.
  • the present invention is not limited to such embodiment. It is also possible to connect the personal computer 100 and the external hard disk drive 400 , for example, using an IEEE 1394 cable, an eSATA cable, a LAN cable instead of the USB cable, and to operate a plurality (two, for example) of hard disk drives using the power by USB.
  • FIG. 6 depicts an example of a bus power mode selection screen WD 3 as a variation example.
  • Displayed on this bus power mode selection screen WD 3 are a check box CB for the user to select two or less hard disk drives to operate from among the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd, and an OK button BT 1 .
  • the maximum number of hard disk drives that can be operated by the power by USB is displayed on the bus power mode selection screen WD 3 .
  • the number of hard disk drives that can be operated is shown as “Up to a maximum of 2.” By working in this way, when the operation mode of the external hard disk drive 400 is the bus power mode, the user can know the maximum number of hard disk drives that can be operated.
  • the external hard disk drive 400 was equipped with a power by USB input unit 412 and a commercial power input unit 414 , and it was possible to operate he hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, and HDDd using both the bus power by USB and the commercial power, but the present invention is not limited to this.
  • the external hard disk drive 400 it is also possible to have the external hard disk drive 400 not be equipped with the commercial power input unit 414 , or the switches SWa 2 , SWb 2 , SWc 2 , SWd 2 , and to operate the hard disk drives HDDa, HDDb, HDDc, HDDd using only the power by USB.
  • steps S 100 , S 110 , S 120 , S 150 , and S 160 in FIG. 2 and steps S 200 , S 210 , S 220 , and S 230 in FIG. 3 are omitted.
  • the selection screen for the user to select which of the plurality of hard disk drives to operate was switched according to whether the operation mode of the external hard disk drive 400 is the bus power mode or the commercial power mode.
  • the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to have the user select which of the plurality of hard disk drives to operate regardless of the operation mode of the external hard disk drive 400 .
  • the Program product may be realized as many aspects. For example:

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  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
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JP2008126890A JP5184206B2 (ja) 2008-05-14 2008-05-14 複数の記憶装置を内蔵する外部記憶装置を制御する制御装置、制御方法、コンピュータプログラム、および、記録媒体

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JP5986016B2 (ja) * 2013-03-04 2016-09-06 東芝テック株式会社 情報処理装置及びプログラム

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